The Resident Companion
by CaptainMatron
Summary: Karin Jefferson joins with the Doctor, unknowing of the danger that surrounds him. After seeing his world of adventure and close calls, Karin decides to do something the Doctor's previous companions haven't done. Dr. River Song and the characters of Firefly help Karin realize what adventure really is.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Karin Jefferson, a young college student pairs up with the Doctor, unknowing of the danger that surrounds him. After their first adventure together, Karin decides to do something none of the previous companions to the Doctor thought of. Dr. River Song and the characters of Firefly come in to help Karin discover what adventure really means.

This is my first time to publish my works so, I hope you guys are willing to give good feedback. Any help would be appreciated! This starts off exclusively as a Doctor who fan fiction but then becomes a Doctor Who and Firefly crossover.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Doctor Who, or soon to be Firefly characters.

Chapter 0.5:

Karin Jefferson spun around when she heard the loud crash behind her. Well, not exactly behind her, more like around the bend. She had just finished turning in her lab notebook for her chemistry class, on a Saturday morning. 11:55 am to be exact, and since it was a Saturday, the building was empty, with most of the lights off. While she was climbing the stairs to the drop box on the third floor, she thought it was a bit creepy. _Like in those horror movies_, Karin had thought to herself. So when she heard the loud crash around-the-bend-behind her, a cold shiver went down her back. She stood there and listened for a moment to hear who was making the noise. Instead of a student laughing at their clumsiness, or a professor cleaning up after themselves, she heard an unearthly snarling. _What the hell?_Karin thought. Soon after she heard the snarling, she heard someone running up the side stairs and into the room around the bend.

"Oh, _look_ at you! You magnificent creature." the man said with a British accent to whatever was in the room. _A magnificent creature?_Karin was debating on whether or not to investigate. She was curious to see what the creature was, but in the back of her mind she was afraid and knew she should just go back to her dorm room. Before she had made a final decision, the man spoke again, piquing her interest.

"Where are you from, eh? From your reptilian exterior and size, not to mention smell, I'm pretty sure this isn't your home." When he mentioned smell, Karin finally noticed that there was a ghastly stench wafting in the air. She had dismissed it earlier as some lab experiment, as many strange smells usually floated through the science building. But this smell made her nauseous. "I'm far away from home too. So I understand if you're afraid, but I can help. Let me help you return back to your home planet." _What was he talking about? Home planet?_Karin was wondering whether or not the man was crazy.

A loud and angry growl shook Karin out of her passive investigation. Whatever the creature, alien or not, she knew that an angry growl was an angry growl, and since most animals bite after they growl, she was afraid for the man in the room. _The idiot could get killed!_ She had to get him out of there! She started running towards the room she heard the sound coming from, but the man was slowly backing out of the room as she rounded the bend.  
As soon as he saw her, he started waving her away, "You might want to consider running right about," he looked back into the room, which was now being destroyed by the angry creature, "NOW!" She stood there stunned by the commotion, only able to hear her fear.

"RUN!" the man yelled as he reached her and took her hand. Then she finally found her legs and started running for her life. They flew down the stairs as the creature, whatever it was, started roaring and running towards the stairs. Once they got to the first floor, she tried to leave out the door, but the man pulled her a different direction.

"Where the _hell_are we going?" Karin managed to say while out of breath. "That's the way out!"

The man took a moment to get his bearings. "We have to lead her into the trap I laid out earlier. I can't just let her wander around _outside_!" he suddenly looked at Karin as if she was suggesting that they kill a baby.

Caught a little off guard by that response, she reflected shortly on their situation. _Of course... There are people out there. Who knows what the creature would do to them_. As the realization came across her, she decided she had to help this man since he seemed to know what he was doing. "Alright. What do I need to do?"

At this response the man smiled. "We need to get her into the classroom."

"Which classroom?" she asked, since every floor had at least five classrooms. She hoped dearly that he remembered which one it was. Just then the creature made it down to the first floor. For the first time, Karin saw the creature. It looked like a hippo-sized dinosaur. As terrifying as it was, it _was _magnificent. Then its eyes met hers and started running towards her, mouth open with razor sharp teeth.

"This way." The man took her hand again and ran. They ran up a different flight of stairs, and once they reached the second floor the man closed the fire door and pointed a gadget at it. The gadget started glowing green at the end and whirring.

"What are you doing?" Karin asked, adrenaline screaming at her to run.

"Giving the Beauty something to chew on. She's too hyper right now, she needs to calm down," he said matter-of-factly.

"What?" Karin had no idea what he was talking about.

"Never mind that, come along." He pulled her along as the creature started banging itself against the door. They went into one of the lab classrooms, where an intricate setting was in place. There were electrical wires everywhere, and some chemicals on sizzle. "Now, stand here for a moment. If Beauty comes, shout my name." he said quickly, turning to go fiddle with the contraption. Karin dutifully did as she was told, but then realized something vital to what she was doing.

"Wait! What's your name?" Karin called out at him. The man turned on his heels and faced her.

"Oh, of course, how rude of me! My name is the Doctor. What might yours be?" He asked hastily.

"Doctor who?"

"Just 'the Doctor'."

"Just 'the Doctor'?"

"Bingo!" he clapped his hands together, and then pointed at Karin once more. "I assume you have a name as well." He smiled a boyish smile. That as the first time Karin looked over the man she decided to help. He was tall and slender, longish brown hair that was parted slightly to the side. He was cute; not exactly her type, but she liked his sense in fashion; an old fashion suit coat, brown pants, white shirt with suspenders and a red bowtie. He reminded her of her grandfather, which forced her to smile.

"I'm Karin Jefferson. Spelled with a 'K'. Its a pleasure to be able to assist you, Doctor." she said as she held out her hand for a handshake. The Doctor gladly took her hand, and turned back to business. After messing around with his gadget and the 'trap' for a moment, he came back to her with a plug and a socket.

"Right then, Karin with a 'K', any moment now, the gorgeous creature will come around the bend. When she does, you put these two together, but not before you tell me." As if on cue Karin heard the fire door bust off its hinges, and the Doctor ran back to his trap.

"DOCTOR!" Karin yelled when the creature rounded the bend. "NOW!" the Doctor yelled back. After she put the two together, the Doctor pulled her arm once more till they were on the other side of the room and he sheltered her as the creature came through the door. Karin couldn't see what happened, but the room became incredibly bright for an instant. When they both stood up after another moment, the creature was still. Looking closely, Karin could see that it wasn't only still; it was suspended in the air in the same position it was in when it entered the room.

"What just happened?" Karin asked, more to herself then to the Doctor, but he replied tritely, "Suspended animation." He raised his eyebrows as he said this, and seeing Karin's incredulous face, he followed up with an excited, "_I know_!" as if it was the most fun he'd had in weeks. "Now, the issue is how to transport her to the TARDIS so that I can take her home. Wherever home is..." then he seemed to be looking around lost. "Sorry, this is going to be an awkward question but I would like you to bear with me. What date is it today?"

"Saturday?" Karin said not knowing what answer he wanted. He looked at her as if she had insulted his intelligence. "May 26th, 2012?" she said trying again.

"Ah, 2012, excellent! Wonderful year, _ohhh_, except for July. That was a rotten month! From your accent I'm guessing we're in America..._ Aaaand _that means that you don't have teleportation yet...That could be a problem." he muttered.

"Sorry if this sounds stupid, but couldn't we just... push it?" Karin suggested. He looked at her blankly. "No. As soon as she is moved from where she is, the suspended animation would be unstable, and then we'd both be dead," he said blandly. Then something sparked in his head. "Oh, but we could bring the TARDIS to the creature. Inside, I'd be able to control the suspended animation easily! Why didn't I think of that sooner!" he said, face palming himself.

Then he ran out of the room, leaving Karin in the room with the creature. Now that it wasn't trying to kill her, she went closer to have a better look. As she neared, she was overwhelmed with awe at the creature. She started crying, but quickly regained her composure. Instead, she now wondered where the Doctor had gone. Wind started to pick up around her, but she couldn't tell where the wind was coming from; the windows weren't open. Then an indescribable sound ensued. Karin started stepping back from the creature, not sure if it was coming out of suspended animation. Unbelievably, a box began to appear where the creature was, and the creature began to disappear. In a few moments, there was just a big blue box, and no creature. Karin stood there speechless, not even having the wits to say "What the hell?" After a few minutes, the Doctor came out of the box, looking intently at Karin before saying, "The creature is in a safe place now; teleported it to a secure part of the TARDIS...Are you alright?" He asked kindly as he saw she was slightly in shock.

"Yeah," Karin said, nodding, "yeah, I think so." Then pointing at the blue box, "You're with the police?" And her question was quite valid because the top of the box clearly read, "Police Public Call Box."

Looking up at his box, the Doctor replied, "Well, technically, no, but if you need an analogy then yes, though I would prefer to be thought of as assistance rather than an enforcer." He stared at her once more, but gave her time to think. In her mind, only one question was pressing. "Before, when you were talking, you kept mentioning taking the creature home..."

"Oh, right. Would you like to help with that as well?" The Doctor watched her face closely as he asked her.

"Would that be alright with you?" Karin's face started to brighten, "It's just that, the creature...I've never seen the likes of it... and it _was_a beautiful creature. I'd like to know where it came from. If it's alright with you, of course."

At this the Doctor smiled. Without further ado, he opened the box and ushered her in.

The enormity of the inside of the box made Karin nauseous once more, and she stumbled out quickly to get air, even though there was plenty of air inside. Looking back at the Doctor, she said his favorite line, "It...It's bigger on the inside..." Which she should have suspected before since the Doctor _had_ mentioned that he had the creature inside. But seeing it was different from knowing it. He giggled as he led her back in and closed the door behind her. "It's called the TARDIS, which stands for 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space'." Putting on a business face and jumping towards the console on the raised platform he continued. "Now, we need to find out where Beauty came from, so we conduct a simple genetic analysis _aaaaanddd_..." he fiddled with the screen he had pulled towards himself, "oh, _really?_Huh. The creature's from Clom. I met a citizen of Clom once, a nasty person, tried to eat a man named Elton, but he had an excellent girlfriend that prevented that from happening. Not exactly the best place to visit on your first go, but it'll be an experience none the less...Are you ready?"

Then it occurred to Karin. "What do you mean _'Clom'_? Is that really a place? Or are you just making this up to mess with my head?" demanded Karin.

The Doctor looked up from his typing and looked at her. "Oh...ah, if you mean a place on _Earth_, then no, Clom is not a place. Clom is a planet, the twin planet of Raxacoricofallapatorius actually, home of the Slitheen, another species you probably won't want to meet yet. As for whether or not I'm messing with your head, why would I possibly want to do that? Is your head _mess-able_?" he asked quite seriously.

"No? Wait, wait, wait...WHAT? Clom is a _planet_?" she couldn't believe what she was hearing. A bigger on the inside box was one thing, but talk about going to other planets was another conversation altogether.

"_Yesss_, now can we take Beauty back home?" Karin just stood still by the door. She didn't know what to say or do, so by default she nodded her head.

"Good. Now you may want to hold on to something," and after he saw that she grabbed onto the stair railing, he pulled a lever and the TARDIS was off.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1:

Karin ran into the TARDIS as soon as the Doctor managed to unlock the door, and the Doctor came immediately after and locked the door behind him. He leaned against the door as he sighed, "That was a close one."

"A close one? _Close_? Doctor, I was about to die! That...that...alien was _this _close to _absorbing _me and all you can say to describe it is '_close'_?" Karin was still shaking from the adrenaline rush.

"Oh, the _thankfulness_! I save your life in the nick of time, and all you can do is critique my diction!" the Doctor retorted. _These humans and their rudeness_, he thought.

Karin saw how her comment had been unfair, so she quickly looked at her feet, ashamed. "Sorry..." she mumbled the apology. The Doctor took this time to look over his very recent assistant. She was a girl maybe in her early 20's, shoulder length brown hair, bright brown eyes, slightly shorter than average, and stocky. Of the companions he had up to now, she was definitely one of a kind. From what he had observed, she was cautious but not too much so that she couldn't hold up her end in a tricky situation. What he liked most was that she did what he asked and saw beauty in what he thought was beautiful, sometimes even in the things that he thought were ugly. And, as he recently observed, she was quick to know when she was out of line. In a nutshell, he thought she would be a great companion.

"So, is it always this dangerous?" Karin asked since he seemed to be used to this type of situation.

The Doctor jumped to the console, fiddled a bit with it then looked back at Karin. "Yes, and more so some days than others." the Doctor's face was dark, as if he was remembering something he was trying to suppress. In fact he was remembering the suffering he usually brought to those he loved the most. In order to change the subject, Karin asked a different question that was causing her to panic a bit. "Doctor, won't the aliens be able to come in? Should we do something?" she said hastily, the thought of being absorbed still disturbing her.

At this the Doctor laughed, "No, you're quite safe in here. Not even the assembled armies of Genghis Khan could get through those doors. Believe me, they tried."

"So the TARDIS is like your safe base?"

"Well, I guess you could describe it like that..." then the Doctor was in deep thought again before he continued, "I've been on my own for a while now, completely by choice mind you, but I've recently begun to get bored with myself. And, if I could be frank, I like you, as a friend, of course…So, I was wondering..." the Doctor took this moment to look Karin in the eyes, "Karin with a 'K', would you like to be my travelling companion for a bit?" he said carefully.

Karin thought about it. Instinctively she didn't want to say yes, but instead of saying a flat out 'no', she said, "I have a chemistry exam next Wednesday..."

"Oh! Which reminds me of something I haven't mentioned _explicitly_. The TARDIS is also a time machine. I can take you back to 2 seconds after we left whenever you want to." he added with a smug smile, flailing his arms around for a dramatic effect.

_That changes things_, Karin thought to herself. All of time and space for her to explore. _But that also means that there is all of time and space of unimaginable danger,_ she realized.

"Under one condition," Karin finally said, and the Doctor quickly nodded, agreeing, "I get to refuse to go on some of your adventures."

"That's reasonable," the Doctor replied, a little surprised. None of his previous companions ever had that kind of request. "So, where do you want to go first? ..._Well, _more like second if you count this trip, but we'll say that one was an appetizer." He was going through all the best places he could take her in his head, but before he could voice his suggestions, Karin quickly said, "Anywhere you want to go, but I don't want to go on this one. I want to see the what's in here first." And with that she made her way up to one of the corridors and started on her journey through the TARDIS. _It's best to know where you live before you go out_, she reasoned.

The Doctor was a little surprised by this, but shrugged his shoulders and pulled the lever, hurling the TARDIS into the time vortex.

-A relative month later-

A big blue box started to materialize in one of the many hallways of the Stormcage Containment Facility. Dr. River Song, who was familiar with the sound, sat up, watching the box materialize and waited for the Doctor to come out.

When he did, she smiled at her man. "Hello, sweetie. What brings you to my humble abode this time?" she asked smiling but frowned as she noticed that he was not exactly happy. "What's wrong?" she said immediately.

The Doctor walked up to her cell, broke the lock with his sonic screwdriver, and took her hand as he pulled her into the TARDIS. "Is it too much to ask for _someone_ to go on an adventure once in awhile?" he complained as he closed the doors and stomped up to the console.

"What are you all flustered about?" asked River, maybe just a little disappointed that he didn't kiss her hello.

The Doctor sat down as he tried to think of a way to explain his predicament to River, then finally spoke, "She just won't come with me! I've tried convincing her, threatening her, even _bribing_ her, but she just _won't_ go with me on _any_ adventures."

"_Who_ darling?" River had never been so confused at the Doctor's ramblings.

The Doctor pinched between his eyes, trying to calm himself down. He just never had to deal with something like this before. "My new _Companion_ refuses to go anywhere outside of the TARDIS. She's been with me for a month now, but she hasn't set foot outside. She's convinced that as soon as she walks outside those doors, she's going to die a horrible death. I don't even know where she is anymore! Sexy won't tell me where she is either, like she's taking her side!" he threw his hands in the air in surrender. "I don't know what to do with her! She has everything that my previous companions had except for the fact that she actually listens to what I tell her, with exception to the adventures, and that she's ridiculously careful with everything she does. You have to make her see reason, River. I _seriously_ don't know what to do with her!" he said exasperated.

River couldn't help but be amused by her husband's predicament. She let out a good laugh, then, seeing that the Doctor looked only more frustrated, tried to control herself. "What makes you think she's going to listen to me, or that I'd be able to help you?"

"Well, you're a _girl_ aren't you? I thought you would be able to connect with her more," River rolled her eyes, clearly not convinced that she should help him. Then, as if pitching a sale, the Doctor added, "_And_ I know that you're _brilliant_ when it comes to negotiations. Plus she's quite amiable so I'm sure you'll get along perfectly." Then he pulled her into the corridors, "Now, I've found her most recently in the library, so we'll start our search there. _Although_, I probably should tell you that was over a week ago…"

River stopped suddenly, remembering that he hadn't kissed her yet, and pulled him to her. "Wait a moment, sweetie. Haven't you..._forgotten_ something?" she said in the most alluring voice she could muster as she sneaked her arms around his neck, pulling his face closer to hers. Finally the Doctor remembered that he liked kissing his girlfriend/wife. "How rude of me!" he said quietly as he kissed her passionately. She broke off their kiss after a few minutes and asked, "So, what _exactly_ do you want me to say to your companion? And does this person have a name?"

"Karin with a 'K'. Basically, I want you to tell her that she won't die the second she steps out those doors," he said as he ushered her through the corridor once more.

River held the Doctor's hand in surprise, "Karin Jefferson?" she asked starting to smile, her face becoming brighter, "Oh, that changes things! Stand out of my way, dear, I know exactly what to do."

As River started sprinting, the Doctor shouted after her, "So, I'm guessing that if I ask why or how you know of her, you're just going to say 'Spoilers' as usual."

"_Of course_, sweetie." She shouted back at him, turning around only to blow him a kiss.


End file.
